This Wall Street Journal article gives a good overview of the problems the US will have in meeting its obligations. We simply are spending far more and have spent far more than we can ever repay. So what politician (who wants to be reelected) is going to tell grandpa he is not going to be getting his SS check or grandma that she can't have that operation because medicare can't afford it? Probably none of them. So we will resort to what all governments resort to to meet their obligations shortfall. The US will just create the new currency units to pay for the obligations. The hidden tax of inflation that Keynes said not one in a million people would ever be able to figure out (I've said one in a thousand in the past, but hey............. he's the dead expert so we will go with his figures).

This is not going to end well.

John

P.S. If we thought the sub prime crisis was the pits, look what is happening to student loans and is rapidly approaching the same size of calamity. Did I mention that this is not going to end well?